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Tag Archives: chocolate
Banana, Pineapple, and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal
Whenever I considered trying out this recipe, I would look at the name and wonder, “Why in the world would I combine those three ingredients?” Then, I would remember that it’s much like a banana split (sans strawberries, which you could obviously include!).
Banana and pineapple are great together. Banana and chocolate are delicious. Pineapple and chocolate are surprisingly tasty. Obviously the three of them together have to work, right?
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Peanut Butter Blossom Baked Oatmeal
Once upon a time, I liked cookies. Doesn’t every child? I loved my mother’s chocolate chip cookies (why was the rest of the world incapable of making decent chocolate chip cookies??), the white chocolate chip macadamia cookies from Subway, big puffy snickerdoodles, fork-pressed peanut butter cookies, frosted sugar cookies, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the incredible peanut butter blossom.
Now, I must rant that I’ve never understood why people are so incessant about this being a “holiday cookie.” What the heck does a peanut butter cookie with a chocolate Kiss have to do with the holidays? Nothing.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Oatmeal
I’ve made several pumpkin recipes, and they all carried a similar theme; in particular, they all included pumpkin pie spice.
This recipe let me depart from that category. I’m finally exploring all pumpkin possibilities, which I intend on doing more frequently going forward. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip was a success, so why not with cocoa powder? (more…)
Chocolate Pomegranate Oatmeal
I remember being underwhelmed the first time I tried pomegranate. I expected it to taste exotic and burst with flavorful juices, like a Fruit Gusher. I couldn’t deny my disappointment the first time I bit into one and crunched into the inner seed.
As with coconut, cranberries, and kiwifruit, I eventually came around to love everything about pomegranates, including the qualities I originally loathed. I love that little crunch now. I love the subtle indescribable flavor. I love the feel of the misshapen little jewels on my tongue before they burst.
…and if I’m being honest, I still love the look of them more than anything else. I mean…look at them! They’re beautiful!
Cranberry Brownie Baked Oatmeal
I need to go back to all my chocolate baked oatmeals and redo them. I need to fix them knowing what I know now. I must improve them…ASAP…because I now know the secret to a banana-less, applesauce-less baked oatmeal.
It’s avocado. AVOCADO! Duh! Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Avocado is used all the time as a replacement for butter and eggs in vegan baking. Ugh! I could have saved myself from so many unnecessary banana flavors.
This trick worked like a charm for this recipe. I was too lazy to drag out my food processor, so I just mashed the heck out of this avocado and mixed it by hand with the other ingredients. Before adding the oats and cranberries, I tasted the chocolate-avocado mixture…and it’s like PUDDING. It reminded me of the dairy-free pudding I often make when I have avocado to use up…but without the banana!
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Coconut Mocha Muesli
I’ve been wanting to make this for so long, but I was hesitant to give myself access to the chocolate-covered espresso beans. Self-control is not my strength. I have excellent self-control about items that I know I can’t have (all mainstream junk food, i.e. Doritos) and non-herbie items (a buttery cinnamon roll), but when it comes to “okay” foods (peanut butter, dark chocolate), I have a hard time putting on the brakes!
Alas, I threw those espresso beans in my cart and prepared to make this muesli. I struggled to keep them around long enough and reserve them for this muesli! I think I gained ten pounds from the entire container.
This recipe can be made with three items: oats, espresso beans, and shredded coconut. However, feel free to add extra ingredients like sunflower seeds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or whatever pleases you. I added walnuts.
Coconut Mocha Muesli
What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
- handful of dark chocolate-covered espresso beans
- 1/8 cup shredded coconut
How to make it:
- Combine all ingredients.
- Serve with milk of choice or yogurt.
Salted Chocolate Chestnut Oatmeal
As I was looking up ideas for recipes using chestnuts, I kept seeing recipe after recipe of chocolate chestnut cakes. In these cakes, the chestnuts are pureed and mixed into the cake batter, so I imagine they are virtually undetectable in the cake (unless you have a keen sense of taste). I thought this was lame at first, considering I like using recipes that highlight my ingredients, not hide them.
However, the more I work with chestnuts, the more I realize that I don’t actually think they’re that great. They’re sadly lacking in flavor, and the flavor that they do have is slightly…unimpressive. Thus, to use up the last of my chestnuts, I decided to steal this idea.
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal
Two baked recipes in one week!
This one is a little more decadent than Tuesday’s Lemon Lover’s recipe. As much as I love the occasional oatmeal with chocolate chips, I definitely have to be careful with how often I do it. I have quite a sensitive stomach, which is what led me to veganism in the first place, so eating chocolate chips in the morning can be a risk for me. Luckily, I had no issues, and even if I had, this oatmeal was so delicious that it wouldn’t have mattered.
Salted Chocolate Pear Oatmeal
I’ve learned the secret. If you ever make oatmeal that doesn’t turn out as spectacular as you’d hoped, just add SALT. Salt that sucker! Mix in salt, and sprinkle some more on top!
Much to my grief last week, I discovered that chocolate and pear just wasn’t doing anything for me. To be honest, I was just super annoyed at the pears. I’m so over pears! They are potentially my least favorite fruit. I’m done with them.
But then I salted it, and everything changed.
Choco-Cherry Cashew Oatmeal
KIND bars cost too much. Let’s all agree on that. Certainly, they are a high-quality product and deserve to cost as much as they do. However, this girl will not be buying them on the regular. This girl receives a living stipend (not an actual salary) and spends too much money at Banana Republic.
However, I splurge on one or two bars from time to time. In August, when I was technically homeless for a week, was massively in debt, and had no functioning kitchen to cook in, I survived on bananas, hummus, and whole wheat naan. To make my life seem less pathetic, I also treated myself to one single KIND bar.
I remember unwrapping it for a mid-morning snack during my staff training session. For a moment, my boss’s voice faded off as my attention focused on the brilliance happening in my mouth. Dark chocolate, sweet cherries, and salty cashews worked harmoniously and created a chewy, crunchy, decadent snack bar.
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